Poltergeist screenwriter talks tone, rating-potential and status of the remake

As you're likely aware, the Sam Raimi-produced POLTERGEIST currently has playwright David Lindsay-Abaire working on the screenplay; Lindsay-Abaire is an unusual choice, having worked on projects as varied as the SHREK musical and the upcoming animated feature RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, but he is most certainly more intriguing that previous scribes Stiles White and Juliet Snowden, who gifted us with BOOGEYMAN and THE POSSESSION.

Collider recently spoke to the writer about GUARDIANS, and thankfully the talk turned to POLTERGEIST. Here are a few slim updates:

- Lindsay-Abaire said he has just "handed in a second draft and people are incredibly excited about it. Theyre not the director, but theyre in search of a director. I will also say that there are very few people who are as obsessed with the original movie as I am, so I would try to write a script that I would want to see as a fan."

- Regarding the tone and rating: "My version is not a gory, horrible its tonally similar to the first movie, and thats sort of family-friendly-esque with some real, genuine scares in it. Its not Saw if thats what youre asking. Im not trying to turn it into something else."

- After the famous clown under the bed scene is brought up, the writer said: "That scene and that vibe meant a tremendous amount to me, and that was the thing I was trying to emulate most in my draft. That movie also has some much-needed humor in it and some emotion in it, so all of that exists."

- Lindsay-Abaire closed by noting the film is a priority for the studio, but it's still unclear when they want to go into production.

Extra Tidbit:

Lindsay-Abaire won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play, RABBIT HOLE (which was subsequently made into a film starring Nicole Kidman, pictured above).